Monica Valentinelli's Blog: booksofm.com, page 75

Simplifying Speak Out with your Geek Out

I updated the description for Speak Out With Your Geek Out.

It reads:

Take a positive stance against baiting nerd rage, geek elitism, negative stereotypes of geeks, and yellow journalism.

Post about how much you love your geeky hobbies or vocation from Monday, September 10th, 2012 to Friday, September 14th on your blog, website, social media account or in a forum somewhere. Then come here and tell us about it. We’ll have a kick-off post where you can stand and be counted.

Let’s show the world who we really are — passionate people who love a hobby so much we are willing to share it in a positive way with other people. This week, we will show our best side to remind others of that, too, and will actively avoid negativity and cheer each other on, instead.

Last year was a learning experience because people were fixated on specific words or phrases. Then there were the discussions of “I don’t want to read this.” or “I don’t think there’s a problem.” That’s fine, people. That’s your choice. But there is a problem whenever someone is passionate enough about “X” to want to say or do something about it. We get laughed at. Bullied. Shoved to the side. Embarrassed. On a high level, being more respectful of one another is what accepting geeks boils down to. That is also why I didn’t define what “geek” is, because many people feel ostracized regardless of whether or not they’re typecast as a comics/gaming/knitting/cooking/etc. sort of geek, too. We’re supposed to be about inclusion, not exclusion.

I cannot stress enough how simple this is supposed to be. This is not a corporate thing, a money-making scheme, or a movement to be manipulated. We live in a world of near-constant criticism and, all too often, we are baited into that negativity. All Speak Out With Your Geek Out really is? A week of happy. Of shiny. Of supporting one another and acknowledging that passion. Of not taking the bait and recognizing that sometimes we are the worst offenders because by defending our own interests we wind up putting other people down without realizing it.

Can we be happy for a week? Can we be cheerful on the internet for five days? Can we have a positive impact in spite of so much negativity?

We’ll find out. Guidelines next week.

Blast from the Book Trailer Past

Oh, how much things have changed. It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since The Queen of Crows debuted. Here we are now and I feel the trailer still stands up to the test of time. So much so, I’m talking to a video editor about cutting an updated version into a widescreen edition.

For those of you who don’t already know, the trailer was a collaborative project. James Semple composed the music, Leanne Buckley illustrated Mahochepi, and I put all the pieces together. Fun!

Mood: Inspired

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Enough to make me crave water.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Up, down, and all around.

In My Ears: Compulsion by Doves

Game Last Played: Ermm…

Movie Last Viewed: The Aristocats

Latest Artistic Project: A grey and aqua bracelet

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

The Dread Silent Manuscript

I feel like a sea slug sometimes because if you read my “updates” online, it doesn’t seem like I’m working on a whole heck of a lot. The lack of “let me tell you what I’m doing every minute of every day” was a conscious decision on my part so I could feel a little freer when I’m in the trenches. I’ve got a few short stories out in the wilds right now and a couple of manuscripts I’m editing, but I don’t want to put the cart before the proverbial horse with no contracts or agent for the long form stuff.

Writing on spec can sometimes be very difficult for that reason — especially since this is a complete role reversal from running the freelancing circuit. Still, I feel it’s in everybody’s best interest if I don’t talk about what you may not ever expect. Thing is, with bigger projects like Violet War, I was trying to get interest in the setting but I *never* had any plans to self-publish that series. All that PR ended up being a huge distraction and some of the short stories I’ve pitched just weren’t as popular as my other, more darker fare. Now, part of that could have been I didn’t submit to the right markets given that VW is solidly urban fantasy, but also the violet war setting is very, very big. How large? Enough for hundreds if not thousands of stories. Short stories I write now may not be as meaningful to the reader unless they’re clearly connected to a novel or two. The long form has to come after the origin story I penned called “The Queen of Crows.”

I know a lot of people have very specific opinions about book marketing in general, but for me the timeliness of that will begin not when I accept the contract, but when the work is either done and accepted for publication or solicited with a Kickstarter.

Additionally, I want you to know that I feel this sort of thing is part of any author’s career. It’s not all steak and eggs, my friends. We screw up. I’m just not afraid to admit when I do because I learn from those mistakes and move on. In an age where we’re all supposed to be “perfect,” there’s nothing more gratifying than messing up, laughing at my stupidity, and putting more words down on the page. At the end of the day, the Work is all that matters. The less laughter, the more tears, the greater the negative impact on my Work. It’s a good thing to know!

There will be other publishing debuts coming yet this year, but again: I think there is such a thing as talking about a project too soon. At least on my end of things.

Mood: Escaping the heat. Ice ice baby.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Questionable. I plead the fifth, sixth, and eighth.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Crazy-woman housekeeping

In My Ears: This is the last battle by Final Fantasy III

Game Last Played: Ermm…

Movie Last Viewed: The Aristocats

Latest Artistic Project: A grey and aqua bracelet

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Thank You for Kickstarting My Work

Just wanted to give a shout-out to my readers today and say “Thank you!” Today marks the third Kickstarter I’ve been involved with for short stories and they have all been successful. With just over twenty days to go the Stone Skin Press – anthologies of new fiction Kickstarter is already funded. If you haven’t checked out this multiple anthology Kickstarter, drop on by. There’s a *ton* of amazing authors included in these books with me!

Thanks again. I really appreciate the support!

Working With The Primary “Laws” of Editing

When I was approached to work on New Hero by Robin Laws, I panicked. Not because of “who” Robin was, but because of my admiration for all that he has done and his attitude toward the Work. An impressive author and game designer in his own right, I was certain his tastes would steer more towards perfection. As an author, I pictured a very high bar and expectations to boot. This wasn’t just about writing “a” short story; this was about writing “the” short story to fit a lofty goal — to develop a new iconic hero for an anthology that included stellar writers.

I’ll be honest with you. My first draft reflected my anxiety and Robin caught onto that right away in his comments to me. It wasn’t until I tossed out those sticky emotions that I started having fun. Everything that he said to me I already knew, but I needed those friendly reminders about technique spelled out in a way that made it easier for me to focus.

My second draft was indeterminable from the first because of Robin. He was patient with me and after that initial pat on the head (and a compliment about my vampires) I was merciless with my first draft. He recognized that effort, too, and I found the exchange to be very motivating.

To me, that’s the sign of a good editor. It’s not just about telling a great story — it’s about the care and feeding of the writer behind it, too. I only hope I can do Robin and the folks at Stone Skin Press proud as I move forward with my fiction career.

If you’re remotely interested in my stories or discerning Robin’s editorial touch for yourself, I invite you to back the Stone Skin Press Anthologies of New Fiction Kickstarter.

On Judging (Self) Quality

Someone at CONvergence asked me if I thought I was a good singer. Like writing, I really have *no* idea. I don’t feel that obsessing about what other people think about my work in any sphere is a sane idea. That’s a deep dark hole of no return because you cannot please everyone. What I shoot for is the Law of Averages. That bell curve of opinions is the way I deal with reviews because you’re always going to have a certain percentage who love/hate you. The middle, though? That’s where the excitement happens.

There’s a lot of professional musicians, artists, authors, etc. who I don’t think are “good.” The reverse is also true. Toss popularity into the mix and it gives me pause sometimes because there are folks who I feel should be riding high who are just coasting. You just never know what’s going to “hit.” So to speak. That’s not something I can control. When that bubble of mass market-ness bursts into the public at large, I wrap my mind around it to see why “X” is working, so I can learn from it. Not everything out there may be for me, but something out there may be for you.

So, what I do focus on, are my own quality standards which I achieve by experiencing joy in my work. It may not be the right answer, but it’s my way of dealing with a crazy world filled with instant judgement. That way, when I’m satisfied? I know I’ve done my absolute best. I can’t ask for anything more than that, really.

Embarrassingly enough, though, the question did make me realize a few things about how I used to let the bullies win. If I’m feeling brave, I might tell you about it later. Or not. :p

Mood: Allergy-ridden medicine head.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Enough to make me stop drinking them.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: The post-con shuffle.

In My Ears: The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver by Elbow

Game Last Played: Ermm…

Movie Last Viewed: The Aristocats

Latest Artistic Project: A grey and aqua bracelet

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

A New “Test” For Female Characters (Involves Cats)

I wound up moderating a panel at CONvergence to promote female authors in fiction. This was my first time at the show and I had heard its reputation as the Con of Many ThingsTM. It truly was, but with an emphasis on socialization. I realized this very quickly on my panel because we were able to take this in a familiar direction and the audience was saying things out loud that were already in my head. Joining me on the panel was the esteemed Tamora Pierce, publisher/author Tim Lieder, avid reader Kelly Pesola, and academic/author Jonna Gjevre.

Time for a commercial break.

What’s that you say? You didn’t know I was going to CONvergence? Yes, I’ve been bad. AWFUL bad. As in: I should have posted my schedule and told you about it. Apparently prepping for vacation is a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. Combined with the Clarion Writer’s Workshop, day jobTM, some short stories and other projects (I forgot my Clarion password again so it looks like I haven’t been writing, which is a total lie.) I’m a bit busy this summer but sane. So, the COnvergence aftermath will come in bits and pieces as I wrap my mind around this very unique con.

Annnnnnnd we’re back.

I could not spend an hour talking about female authors without testing the waters on two very hot button points happening in our sphere today. Feminism and “strong female characters.” Mind you, there’s a reason why I did that. As moderator, I felt that an hour spent reciting names of authors wouldn’t be as valuable to the audience as the reasons why we were recommending them. A lot of the time, readers want female authors because they’re searching for something — but what? Really, a lot of my own confusion about why focus on one gender or another boils down to a money question I asked my fellow panelists late in the panel: Think of all the female authors you know. Now, could male writers pen the same stories? But, to get there, we had to start somewhere especially since the panel was comprised of authors who always write about heroines rather than heroes. Not to mention, there is a wide berth of gender exploration and other feminist related ideals, too, which was well met by veteran Tamora Pierce who was able to put female characters in context through a historical lens. She asserted that that’s where you began to see so-called “strong female characters.” (And she’s brilliant and right, by the way. But that would be its own post.)

One of the concepts we learned as a result of this discussion was very interesting. That the phrase “strong female characters” means two different things depending upon which side of the author/reader fence you’re on. To an author, a strong character is well-defined as (an audience member used this word and I loved it) one who has agency. To a reader? Strong can mean a lot of things but not necessarily related to the structure or plot. You have physically strong, mentally, emotionally, etc.

As the panel went on, we talked about books written by female authors and why we’d recommend them within this framework. From brain candy to gender explorations, I felt that the discussion was deepened by the talks about “why pick female writers in the first place.” Interestingly enough, the response to my earlier question toward the end? To the panel and to the audience, a man could just as easily write the same books a woman could and vice versa. We did have laundry lists of female authors for the audience and many of mine mirrored everyone else’s, too. Readers were concerned about discovery, which is something I’ve heard from many of them before, that they don’t know “how” to find new writers they would be entertained by.

By far, though, my favorite part was when an audience member piped up a quote (which I will no doubt slaughter here, so I won’t even bother trying) about how a playwright thinks of strong characters. Basically, it comes down to the difference between an actor or actress and a prop. That was so compelling to me, I immediately thought of using that concept with cats.

Here’s the test in a ball of catnip:

Pick a story. Any story. Take the characters you think are weak and replace them with an “animated prop,” which in my case is cats. If the story does not break, then that character needs some loving care.

So… Let’s try an example. Remember, this isn’t The Bechdel test, because this is testing the strength of an individual. Hrmm… Well, let’s take a look at a very obscure film. The Neverending Story.

Let’s replace the Empress with a cat by the same name. In that film, the Empress is luring him to the Ivory Tower. Interestingly enough, the character doesn’t even speak until the end. And it turns out? She doesn’t have to. Now, there are some slight tweaks but the basic (e.g. larger) story arc does not change with them.

ATREYU: I have failed you, Empress.

EMPRESS rubs up against ATREYU’S leg.

ATREYU: I don’t know what to do. I’ve failed you. I’m sorry.

EMPRESS jumps onto the table and lays down on a PHOTO ALBUM. Atreyu walks over to Empress.

ATREYU: There are strange markings on this book. Is that the super sekrit symbol of our land?

ATREYU flips through the photo book. It shows earlier scenes where BASTIAN is being bullied.

BASTIAN: But that’s impossible!

Fast-forwarding a bit here, but then the Empress serves as a vehicle for Bastian once again. Bastian must name her or else Fantasia is destroyed.

EMPRESS lies upside down in her CAT BED. She is obviously weak and too sick to run away from the EARTHQUAKE. A small NAME TAG on top of her cat bed spells out her name. As the palace crumbles, the Empress’s name disappears in a magical PUFF OF SMOKE.

BASTIAN: But I can’t! You’re just a cat!

Empress reaches out a paw and then drops it as the palace crumbles.

BASTIAN: Where did your name go, anyway? Why can’t I remember it. What was it? Miss Princess Poofy mcLipstick pants?

Annnnnnd the final act in the movie is once again dependent upon Bastian. He has to re-imagine Fantasia from a grain of sand.

BASTIAN and MISS PRINCESS POOFY MCLIPSTICK PANTS are locked together in a BLACK VOID. A grain of SAND appears.

BASTIAN: Oh, Miss Princess Poofy McLipstick Pants. I wish I knew what to do.

MISS PRINCESS POOFY MCLIPSTICK PANTS balances the grain of SAND on her nose. BASTIAN picks it up and experiences a FLASHBACK of the friends he’s made in Fantasia.

BASTIAN: I wonder what Falco would do if he were here. . . Do you think he’ll come back Miss Princess Poofy Mclipstick Pants?

MISS PRINCESS POOFY MCLIPSTICK PANTS: Meow!

There. I gave the kitty a line.

Now, here’s the thing. This is silly, I know. And I’m not dissing the writers, either. I like the movie and props in a story have a use. The point I’m trying to make is that characters who can, with a few tweaks, be replaced by props are not strong. Like Shakespeare said. Know thyself. Like I say? KNOW THY WORK. The further you get into prop territory, the more the other actors/actresses are diminished, too, because their motivation shifts based on what an animal or inanimate object does. And if you own cats? Yeah, they have personality and they’re not afraid to use it, either — especially on their human slaves.

This bout of insanity brought to you by the same mind who wrote about Nyarlathotep possessed in the body of a bunny rabbit.

Peace out.

Mood: Post-haze of downtime vacation-ish.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Nowhere, no how, not enough.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Head. Thump. Stairs. Thump. Car. Snore.

In My Ears: The sound of a 1,000 blades whirring. Don’t worry, these are fans.

Game Last Played: Ermm…

Movie Last Viewed: The Aristocats

Latest Artistic Project: A grey and aqua bracelet

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

News and Links From The Front Squiggly Line

By the stars, has it been a busy past couple of weeks or what? Summer has consumed my brain cells; I am enjoying the weather with full abandon and my normally glow-in-the-dark skin has a touch of color to it. Not to mention? Movement is a very good thing.

And shoes. Can’t forget about the shoes. (I splurged, what can I say?)

With that, I have a few things to tell you. Hopefully they’ll retain your interest, but you never know. There’s so much to see, to read, to enjoy. . .LOOK, SQUIRREL!

I wrote an article for BookLife about how you can Learn From The Stories You Hate. I strongly feel that books and stories are your text books. There’s really no better way to learn from what’s already been published and there is a lot to be learned not just from the craft itself — but from books that are popular that we might not like. It’s pretty crappy of us to automatically dismiss books that aren’t our cup of tea and (in my mind) pretty stupid. We should want our stories to be read, right?

I’m going to be heading up to CONvergence with John Kovalic and the rest of the Dork Tower/Dr. Blink team next weekend. Some of our MIBs for Steve Jackson Games will also be there, too! I’m on vacation beginning at 5 p.m. today, but I have a lot to do before then! I’ll post my schedule next week.

My friend Bill Walton, who is also a huge advocate for the gaming industry, lost everything in a fire. You can read his post about how you can help here: family emergency.

I had a mini named after me. Characters? Yeah, that’s happened before. A few times. Heh. But never a mini! Find me in the extras on Eden Studio’s Conspiracy X The Conspiracies Sourcebook on Kickstarter.

Last but not least? A review of Instant Antagonists: Creepy Cottontail! Yay! “It takes great skill as a writer to actually build up enough empathy towards a creature whose power is drawn from the utter torment of others, but Monica accomplished this goal.”

For my Clarion Write-a-Thon, I added some excerpts on my writer’s profile, and I joined a writing team! Been scrambling trying to get ready for vacation so I haven’t blogged much about this or my word count. I hope to be doing that next week.

I’m working on revisions for my Have Blaster, Will Travel story and will be gearing up for a new short story readers voted on for Our Last Best Hope. More on that soon!

Well, that’s all the time I have right now. Phew!

Mood: I have vacation on my brain.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: GIVE ME COFFEE OR GIVE ME DEATH.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Movin’ and shakin’

In My Ears: The sound of a 1,000 blades whirring. Don’t worry, these are fans.

Game Last Played: Ermm…

Movie Last Viewed: Chronicle

Latest Artistic Project: A gold bead. Yep, I made a bead. And other assorted hilarity.

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Sponsor Me for the Clarion Write-a-Thon

Dear Readers, after reading a ton of books and poring through research, I have decided to up my word count. (Less thinky, more writey.) To do that, I’m going to participate in the Clarion Write-a-Thon. I’m not a Clarion attendee myself, but I know a lot who have graduated, and their experience with it sounded excellent! What’s more, is that The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop portion also has a support network, which is where the Write-a-Thon comes into play.

I am a big fan of the idea because I feel that every writer needs a cheering section. It can be tough (speaking from personal experience) when you are new or you don’t have readers giving you feedback. I am all over writing to help out attendees, so I’ve pledged to write 50,000 words in about a month, which is the same word count as NaNoWriMo. For me, it is about a month, because I have about a week-to-two week’s worth of travel for upcoming summer festivals and conventions.

Please consider sponsoring me for the Clarion Write-a-Thon. I am writing 50,000 words and am hoping to raise $250 to support the education of other writers.

Writing begins officially on June 24th and ends on August 4th, which are the same dates as the 2012 Clarion Workshop. I hope to raise $250 for the workshop. I hope you’ll consider sponsoring me on my quest to write on, write on.

Thank You! Now Tell Me How The World Ends.

Good morning! Well, much to my surprise I will now pen a second story for a Kickstarter stretch goal! I just handed in the first draft of the loosely-titled “Fang’s Revenge” for the Have Blaster, Will Travel anthology. Now, I get to write ANOTHER disaster story and Kickstarter backers get to shape the plot for this one, too! The Our Last Best Hope – An RPG To Save The World Kickstarter was a smashing success!

Tell Me How To End The World for “We Are Dust” Survey

Or, you can fill out the survey here in my blog. Can’t wait to read your responses! Please fill out the survey by Sunday, June 24th so I can start writing.

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